Aldebaran in fiction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) is a large, bright orange star in the constellation Taurus which is frequently mentioned in works of science fiction:
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[edit] Literature
- Aldebaran is one of several stars mentioned in the Cthulhu Mythos, as somehow relating to the being or place named Hastur.
- In Joe Haldeman's The Forever War, mankind's first contact with the alien race, later called Taurans, technically occurs near Aldebaran. As the main character explains, ""Aldebaranian" is a little hard to handle, they named the enemy "Tauran"."
- Frederik Pohl's Narabedla Inc. is partially set on a planet circling Aldebaran. The title being the name of an Earth Corporation run by human agents of the Aldebaran aliens. Narabedla is Aldebaran spelled backward.
- In Douglas Adams' The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Aldebaran is mentioned once. In 576 thousand million years, right after the Universe has ended, the guests at Milliways (the eponymous restaurant) will be served sweets and delicious Aldebaranian liqueur. In the original radio broadcast, Roy Hudd, playing the restaurant's maître d', Max Quordlepleen, mispronounced the name as "Adelbaran".
- In the novels of E. E. Smith's Lensman Series Aldebaran's second planet is portrayed as having no native intelligent life, and, being otherwise very Earth-like, attracting large scale human settlement. This yields a vibrant world with a notably hedonistic culture.
- Aldebaran is the home system of the sea turtle-like aliens in Ursula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven.
[edit] Comics
- Léo's comics series Aldébaran is set on the Earth-like planet "Aldebaran-4" (or simply "Aldebaran"), circling the star of the same name. The planet is colonised by humans.
- In the Bucky O'Hare series of comic books and the accompanying TV series, Aldebaran is the name of a planet in a parallel universe, and the home to several anthropomorphic cats who wield magical powers.
[edit] Television
- In Star Trek: The Original Series, Doctor Elizabeth Dehner is said to have spent time on Aldebaran.
- In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", Captain Jean-Luc Picard tells Montgomery Scott that the green-colored alcoholic beverage he is drinking is "Aldebaran Whisky".
- In an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, Doctor Phlox suggested to Commander Tucker that if he didn't wish to receive Vulcan neural pressure from Subcommander T'Pol, he should instead try using Aldebaran mud leeches to cure his insomnia.
[edit] Games
- Aldebaran is the name of the star system where the Vasudan Government was moved after the Great War in the FreeSpace 2 computer game.
[edit] Other uses
- In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Aldebaran is mentioned in reference to the glow of Tess's jewelry as she sits opposite her new husband Angel.
- In George Orwell's semi-autobiographical Down and Out in Paris and London, Bozo, a fellow vagrant but sometimes street painter, befriends the narrator and points out Aldebaran in a conversation about his interest in astronomy.
- See also: Star names in popular culture#Aldebaran.
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